Over the last decade, Lehigh University's Impact Fellowship programs have challenged students to work across disciplines and cultures, tackle complex problems and turn ideas into real-world impact.
But what comes after an Impact Fellowship? While many students continue advancing their projects or take on new challenges, others seek opportunities to share what they have learned, mentor fellow students and inspire the next generation of changemakers.
The inaugural year of the Creative Inquiry–Lee Iacocca Institute Sustainable Futures Fellowship (SFF) program offered one answer. Fourteen experienced Impact Fellows took on new roles as mentors and facilitators, guiding students through innovation and entrepreneurship programs in Brazil, Kazakhstan, India and the Philippines.
Across the four locations, the Fellows led seven weeklong Humanitarian Design and Social Enterprise (HDSE) Leadership Intensives involving more than 160 participants, supported by partner universities, faculty, entrepreneurs, industry professionals and other experts.
Drawing on their Impact Fellowship experiences, the Fellows guided participants through identifying problems, understanding stakeholder needs and developing practical, innovative and sustainable solutions. Student teams then refined their ideas and presented proposed solutions to panels of professionals and academic experts for evaluation.
“Global leadership is built by giving students meaningful responsibilities as they navigate unfamiliar cross-cultural situations,” said Leah Mason, director of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership. “These Fellows arrived with accomplishments from their Impact Fellowships, but SFF asked them to build on those experiences by reflecting on their own self-awareness, listening to others and adapting as they sought to lead others toward a shared goal. Watching them step into that role shows how powerful the transition from learner to facilitator can be.”
The fellowship brought that model to four locations:
- São Leopoldo, Brazil, where Malayna Leopold ’26, Alexandra McWatters ’27, Olivia Meyer ’27, Lizzy Hay ’27 and Jackson Kramp ’27 led an intensive March 9–13 in partnership with Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), with support from Fulbright Brazil.
- Almaty, Kazakhstan, where Owen Holst ’27, Vini Jaiswal ’27, Eileen Kandie ’27 and Pragnya Yerramalli ’28 led two intensives in May in partnership with Almaty Management University (AlmaU), with support from American Councils for International Education and other local partners.
- Kuppam, India, where Evan Mazor ’27, Jonathan Sferratore ’27 and Maeve Timms ’27 led intensives at the Agastya International Foundation campus in collaboration with the Indo-Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE).
- Manila, Philippines, where Asha Marwaha ’27 and Mila Jovanovic ’27 led intensives at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, working with local educators and professionals, including representatives from Ayala Foundation.
While each intensive was adapted to its local context, the workshops followed a similar progression, from identifying challenges and exploring opportunities to developing viable ventures.
For Kramp, one of the Sustainable Futures Fellows who led intensives in Brazil, watching participants' progress was among the most rewarding aspects of the experience.
“It was especially rewarding to see how much the participants grew over the week,” Kramp said. “Their ideas matured from broad interests into actual products or systems they could implement, and hearing their appreciation afterward made that progress even more meaningful.”
In India, participants developed venture concepts including a low-cost glaucoma screening device, technology to help farmers identify counterfeit seeds and a contactless fall-detection system for older adults.
The impact of the intensives also extended beyond the workshops themselves. On Sept. 18–19, the IUCEE Student Chapter at Sphoorthy Engineering College independently organized its own Humanitarian Design and Social Enterprise workshop. Third-year students Mokshagnya Pilli and Kotagiri Hansika, who had participated in the HDSE program at the Agastya International Foundation campus in Kuppam, moved from participants to facilitators.
Krishna Vedula, executive director of IUCEE and dean emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, said feedback from students at participating IUCEE institutions highlighted the importance of skills developed through the program.
“All of them pointed out that the most important learnings from the program were ‘Problem-Solving Process’, ‘New Skills and Mindsets’, ‘Team Work and Leadership’,” Vedula said. “These are the most important skills needed by our future graduates, who will have to address complex global challenges. They do not get these from conventional classrooms.”
Brazil HDSE participant Amanda Fraga Röpke reflected on the relationships formed during the intensive, saying that “beyond the technical knowledge, what made the experience especially meaningful were the conversations, connections and sense of community that emerged throughout the journey.”
Khanjan Mehta, Lehigh’s vice provost for Creative Inquiry, said experiences like these demonstrate how SFF extends the impact of Lehigh's Impact Fellowship programs.
“What makes SFF powerful is that our students are not simply applying what they learned by advancing their Impact Fellowship projects. They are learning how to translate that experience into leadership,” Mehta said. “By mentoring others, asking better questions and helping teams move from complex problems toward practical solutions, they are extending their impact far beyond a single project or community.”
That opportunity to share knowledge and experience drew Maeve Timms to the program. She had previously worked on AgriWrap, a Global Social Impact Fellowship project in the Philippines.
“My experience with GSIF and the AgriWrap project encouraged me to apply for the SFF,” Timms said. “I wanted to help other students have the same opportunity to develop their own projects and make an impact.”
The experience also challenged Timms to grow as a leader. Initially intimidated by speaking to large audiences, she gained confidence through repeated workshops and interactions with participants.
“Through SFF, I became more comfortable speaking in front of large groups and learned to welcome opportunities that initially pushed me outside of my comfort zone,” she said.
In its first year, the Sustainable Futures Fellowship offered experienced Impact Fellows a new way to build on their research and fieldwork: by helping others develop ideas and pursue solutions of their own. The program’s partnership between the Office of Creative Inquiry and the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership also gave the Fellows opportunities to improve their emotional intelligence, navigate conflict, and strengthen their cross-cultural communication skills.
In 2027, the program will return to Brazil, Kazakhstan and India and expand to Australia through a new partnership with Swinburne University in Melbourne.
2026 HDSE photos
